Page 31 of Searching for Love

As they made their way towards the door, Avery linked her arm with his playfully.

“I’m so ready to buy some stuff.” Her eyes sparkled with excitement. “I love shopping and spending other people’s money.”

Lucas chuckled. With Avery by his side, he felt that anything was possible.

Lucas helped Avery into his truck and climbed in behind the wheel. As they headed out of town, he was thankful the rain had cleared up and the heat of summer was once more allowing the townspeople to enjoy the outdoors.

The small town still wasn’t busy in comparison to Edgeview, but there were more people on the street. Avery rolled down her window and called out a hello to each of them they passed.

“It’s rude not to honk or wave in town,” she joked as she rolled up the window again when he hit the main road out of town.

“I’ll keep that in mind. Where’s this food truck?”

“Oh, just up here about two miles. My friend Carrie Brogan runs an animal sanctuary. On Saturday she makes burgers and hot dogs to draw people in to adopt or foster animals.”

“Smart.” He followed her instructions until he turned off the main road leading to the highway.

Carrie’s Sanctuary was much larger and more grandiose than he would have imagined. There was a massive barn surrounded by goats, pigs, small donkeys, and a few horses. Three buildings circled a larger one in the center, which housed a food truck. More than a half dozen people sat around on picnic tables, enjoying the food. Almost every single person was holding a dog on a leash while they ate.

When they parked and got out of the truck, the aroma of freshly grilled food from the nearby food truck wafted through the air, teasing his senses and igniting his appetite. Avery’s eyes lit up with excitement as she led the way down a wide pathway toward the food truck near the main building.

“Oh, I forgot to mention.” Avery stopped in front of him. “You don’t pay for the food with money.” Her smile grew. “It’s free, just as long as you walk a dog that’s stuck at the sanctuary.”

He nodded. “I like dogs.”

Avery laughed and took his hand. “Come on, we’ll go break a couple of them out for a while and enjoy a burger.”

It took them a little while to pick out a couple of smaller dogs, one brown terrier mix named Chunky and a small yellow doodle mix named Dave. They were given leashes by one of Avery’s friends who worked there and set off to walk the dogs.

After strolling with them for a while around the grassy yard to let them relieve themselves, they headed over to the food truck. The old truck was adorned with colorful banners and twinkling lights and stood out from the grassy fields that surrounded it. There were two main dishes on the menu: burgers or hot dogs with a side of your choice of potato chips.

“The burgers are good,” she said as they approached. “What do you want?”

“I could go for a burger,” he replied, his mouth watering at the thought of sinking his teeth into a juicy patty topped with all the fixings.

Avery nodded in agreement, her eyes alight with anticipation. “Burgers it is!”

They approached the window of the food truck, where a friendly-faced girl greeted them with a warm smile. After placing their order, they found a cozy spot at a nearby picnic table and let the dogs sniff the ground while the aroma of sizzling meat filled the air.

As they sat there, basking in the warmth of the afternoon sun and the promise of good food and even better company, Lucas knew that he was exactly where he was meant to be.

“I don’t think anything could be as perfect as this moment,” he said with a sigh.

Just then, Dave lifted his leg and proceeded to soak his shoe while Avery laughed.